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Talk:Benten/@comment-182.253.72.149-20170803130306
To understand Benten's relationship with the rest of the characters in this show, we have to go back to the order of the world: The skies belong to the Tengu, the earth to humans, and the tanuki live in the interstices. In Uchouten Kazoku the tengu depicted in the story are not the shapeshifting small bird youkai of Shinto lore but the massively powerful minor divinities of Buddhist lore. These tengu are for all practical purposes gods who must be worshipped, but whose capricious and ruthless nature prevent them from ever achieving true enlightenment. As such, it's safe for youkai (like the tanuki) to approach them, unlike with the true divinities who would eradicate them at first glance. It is exactly that capricious nature of the tengu that the tanuki society rely on for survival. If the tengu were anywhere near as righteous as true gods, the tanuki would have no home (literally, in the case of the Shikoku tanuki) in the human world. As such, the tanuki cannot deny that aspect of the tengu personality, which is why they have long decided to tolerate the extremely dangerous behavior of their overlords. In the case of the Kyoto tanuki, especially in the first season, Nyoigatake Yakushibo is undisputed lord and master. All the tanuki clans we see (excepting the zoo tanuki) live in shrines and temples located at the foot of Mt. Daimonji. All tanuki clans also take the name of the shrine/temple they live in - google their family names and add "temple" to find out more about these places and marvel at how accurately they are depicted in the anime. The anime even shows parts not normally open to the public, such as Gyokuran's hideout in the Nanzenji temple. The other name for Mt. Daimonji is Mt. Nyoigatake. It's Akadama-sensei's mountain, and as such all the shrines and temples that make up the abode of the tanuki are under his protection. The tanuki of Kyoto actually have it easy to a degree. Consider that Shiramine Sagamibou of Shikoku actually charges rent, and the King of the Tengu, Kuramayama Soujoubou, is basically boss of a supernatural yakuza clan (the Kurama Tengu). In Kyoto the tanuki just freeload in their abodes while Akadama-sensei lives in his run-down apartment. So it's not strange that they want to maintain the status quo - that is, to keep Daimonji in the hands of Nyoigatake Yakushibo and prevent the expansionist Kurama clan from taking it. This is why Shimogamo Souichiro waged a war against the Kurama Tengu on behalf of Akadama-sensei. So here's the problem: Akadama-sensei is old and crippled, and his heir is missing. Without a Nyoigatake Yakushibo sitting on Mt. Daimonji/Nyoigatake, the good times might go away for the Kyoto tanuki community as a whole, especially if the yakuza gang from Mt. Kurama sets up shop there. Thankfully, Nyoigatake Yakushibo does have an appointed heir: Suzuki Satomi, the girl he kidnapped when she was 16. Well, now that girl is Benten of the Friday Club. And she ate Souichiro, the leader of the Kyoto tanuki. Oops. The dilemma for the Kyoto tanuki is that, despite her membership in the Friday Club, Benten is actually an okay overlord. She's just as capricious and ruthless as any tengu and she takes a hands-off approach just like her master. Most importantly, she is powerful enough to defend her territory and she has human allies who are well-versed in the supernatural arts. This is why, despite all that Benten had ever done, none of the tanuki particularly hates her, not even the Shimogamo clan. They accept that tengu MUST be capricious and cruel because it's that very nature that allow them to tolerate the tanuki. They also accept that some sort of price may have to be paid in blood for the continued survival of the Kyoto community. The tanuki attitude towards Benten eating Souichiro is no different from what you'd expect of peasants who see their benevolent daimyo's son killing their village head. It's disconcerting and may bode ill for the future, but it is still the right of the nobility and the old lord, while benevolent in government, is actually no less brutal a man to begin with.